Information blogs

Good Morning! I hope this finds you all well. As promised, here is the ‘part 2′ to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ blog I did a few weeks back. This time I have asked four everyday ladies (lovely COTC friends who were kind enough to share their time), just like you and me, who run a busy household, what they are doing to help the environment. It is a bit of a long read but I do believe you will find it interesting, worthwhile and hopefully inspiring. I am keen to hear from you after you have read it!

Bec’s Story:

Why do you think it is important to ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

We are a family of 3 and I was regularly finding that 1 small red bin wasn’t large enough for 1 weeks worth of rubbish. I actually looked at what we were putting in there each week, and realised that so many things were going to landfill that could be recycled or composted. Since changing the setup in our home, we are struggling to put 1/2 a bag of rubbish in a bin that we were previously overflowing! That’s a massive difference! If each household could reduce their rubbish from 1 bin to less than 1 bag with just a few small changes at home, it would have such a positive impact on our environment.

For starters there would be so much less going to landfill, and we could also reduce the carbon footprint of all those garbage trucks collecting rubbish from the kerb every day. Imagine if the garbage truck only came fortnightly like the recycling truck, just think about the drop in emissions alone that would create.

We also get a local paper delivered to our house, by someone in a car, twice a week. I don’t read this paper and have contacted the publisher multiple times to opt-out (I’ve even asked the woman delivering it to please refrain) but it still collects in a pile on my lawn each week until my neighbour gets sick of looking at it and puts them in my recycling bin. I am astounded at the waste of resources the publishers of this newspaper are partaking in. This paper is produced from trees, shipped to a printer, printed on, packaged up (sometimes in plastic), driven to my residence in a car, thrown on my driveway, thrown in the bin, collected by a truck and sent to a recycle centre to be turned back into paper. It’s insane, and I have since discovered that most of the locals in the area don’t read it either, some use it for kindling in their fireplace, others compost it but mostly it goes straight into recycling. It’s amazing how wasteful this is and people aren’t even stopping to think about it.

I think it’s important not only to reduce, reuse and recycle so that we are not wasting the earths limited resources and there is something left for our kids to enjoy, but to also look at everyday life and hold people and companies accountable for their contribution to outdated and wasteful practices.

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

Just make 1 small change at a time. Even if it’s moving your recycle bin to a more prominent area in your home, or collecting food scraps to give to your neighbours chooks rather than throwing them in the bin. Once you can see that you’ve made a small difference it’s contagious and it grows from there. I’ve also joined a few Facebook groups and learned so much. Search ‘Zero Waste’ in your area and join a community of like-minded people who will have a billion ideas for how to reduce your waste.

What are 3 ways you personally ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

The change was so simple at our house.

Firstly I pulled our recycle bin out of the pantry and placed it next to the rubbish bin, this alone made a difference as when you step over to the bin to throw something out you’re presented with 2 options, and it really makes you stop and think about what you’re throwing out. It also resulted in disagreements between my husband and I as to what was actually recyclable, so we researched and discovered what can and can’t be recycled in our area (it’s different in every area). Where we live, any hard plastic packaging with a 1 or 2 on the bottom can go in recycling, but anything from 3 – 6 can’t. We’ve also discovered that long life milk containers are foil lined and can’t be recycled in our area, but the plastic lids can, so they get divided up and disposed of accordingly.

I then added a third bin to the same area, for plastic packaging that can be recycled at Coles or Woolworths – see http://www.redcycle.net.au/where-to-redcycle/ for more info. Again, when you have an item in your hand there is now 3 options, and it’s become a bit of a game to avoid the garbage bin as much as possible. You regularly hear a “yes! It’s a number 2 recycle!” coming from our kitchen, as one of us is so excited that another piece of plastic avoids the garbage truck!! (Sad, I know).

Finally I got a smaller bin for the kitchen bench top to place food scraps in, and setup a compost bin out in the garden. We actually got the compost bin for free as I was regularly sharing my recycle journey on Facebook and a friend had one that they’d never used and dropped it over. Our little boy is very good at putting his scraps in the bench top bin, and helps me gather leaves from the garden to layer over the food scraps each time I throw them into the compost.

I’ve also started using a reusable coffee cup each day as I’ve discovered that coffee cups aren’t recyclable due to the 5% of plastic coating over them, and my favourite cafe is more than happy to fill it for me. We also acquired a 44 gallon drum that we’ve turned into a fire pit in the garden, do avoid having a petrol-powered garbage truck take our garden waste away. It’s also a nice romantic Saturday evening sitting in front of the fire with a nice glass of red 😉

Master O helping his mummy with the plastic bag recycling!

Surely companies should listen when we want to opt out of all this paper being delivered?

Meagan’s story:

For us, it is so important to reduce, reuse and recycle to try to leave less of an impact on our planet for our children, and their children.

I have long considered myself environmentally aware, however when our son was born 14 months ago I was utterly shocked by the amount of waste we were suddenly producing. We were filling our rubbish bin each week for the first time ever! So began our cloth nappy journey and a deeper eye opener on the huge issue of waste in our country.

My advice to anyone is to start small, the changes can be overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Literally EVERY bit helps. Don’t want to cloth nappy? Could you use just one a day, in place of a disposable? See where that takes you. Struggle to remember your reusable coffee cup? Could you dine in instead? Or even refuse a lid – that’s one less piece of waste you are responsible for (for one coffee a day thats 365 pieces a year or almost 2000 pieces over 5 years, it does make a difference!) You could start a compost, or even just set yourself a goal to not buy anything new for a fortnight/month. Start shopping at op shops, the first time you find a wonderful piece for a fraction of the retail price will have you on cloud 9!

Starting your low impact journey will really surprise you with the benefits it can have on your health, and your wallet.

In our household the focus has really turned to reducing what we’re consuming & creating to begin with by not buying things we don’t really need and making a really thorough effort to use up all our food and make sure nothing goes to waste.

We have dramatically reduced our kitchen waste by starting up a worm farm & keeping containers of peelings etc in the freezer to give to friends with chickens each week, in return for some fresh eggs. We also try to buy things in bulk that only come in plastic packaging such as frozen peas etc – to reduce the amount of plastic we buy.

I have taken up sewing as a hobby, by using old clothes with holes in them I have so far made dish cloths, reusable produce bags and a pair of pants for our baby. Giving these old clothes a second life has really brought me great joy, even if I’m not much of a sewer!

Finally, we have increased our recycling by being far more aware of packaging and what can & cannot be recycled. If a product comes with loads of non-recyclable packaging (or just far too much unnecessary packaging) we no longer buy it. We source an alternative or simply go without. I usually write one email a week to various companies about their unnecessary packaging. I rarely get a response, however if just ONE of my emails makes even a small difference, at least its a start.

We only get one planet and we all need to be more accountable for the waste we are producing. Start today, don’t look back, be the change!

Bec’s bin situation!

Meredith’s Story:

Why do you think it is important to ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

As consumers, we’re a pretty wasteful lot. If you c​onsider how many times you’ve bought more than you need, then tossed half of it in your rubbish bin. If you imagine everyone else doing this, in every​household across Australia, that​ an awful lot of ​rubbish that goes into landfill and, from there, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. ​There are 2 adults and 3 young children in our household. We practise many waste minimising activities; however we still end up with a bin full at the end of the week. There is so much more we could do. Reducing waste, reusing (typical) waste items and recycling waste is such an important skill to learn. There are many ways to achieve these waste minimising practises. It is important to reduce the volume of waste that goes to landfill, not only to help keep landfill sites small, but the creating of all products (that we dispose of as waste) uses some form of electricity which produces greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases are detrimental to our ozone layer and thus climate change. With a little more thought, we can all change our habits so that we throw out less garbage. It’s as easy as developing a few new practices – when shopping and in the kitchen – and very soon it becomes second nature.

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

​There are many ways to reduce the waste that you send to landfill each year. Start small. Don’t try and change everything at once, you will become overwhelmed. Some helpful tips are:

Reduce

* reduce the amount of waste that comes into your home.

* shop at a fruit market, take your own cloth produce bags and you walk away with NO plastic bags / plastic trays / paper bags or elastic bands etc.

* buy in bulk where possible. flours, nuts, seeds, dried fruit etc

Reuse

* can you reuse that typical waste item?

​​* should you have plastic bags in your house, don’t toss them in the bin, use them over and over again

​* Is there a way you can reuse your cardboard boxes? Use them to store household items in, pack items away etc.

​* Instead of throwing old clothing out, donate it to the local charity store

* glass jars are an excellent item to reuse in the house. I store nuts, seeds, flours in them etc.

* food scraps are another source of waste. Can you compost them? I store vegetable off cuts in a container in the freezer and use them for making vegetable stock. Fruit scraps are also placed in the freezer for smoothies or cakes etc.

Recycle

* what waste items can you recycle in your household?

* ​all cardboard and paper should go in the recycling bin

​* plastic items that have the recycle triangle on them are safe to dispose of in the recycling bin

What are 3 ways you personally ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

Reduce: We reduce waste in our household by using cloth shopping bags, and cloth produce bags when going to the supermarket or shopping in general.- I buy my flours, nuts, seeds etc in bulk- I try to buy as locally as possible to reduce the carbon footprint

Reuse: we reuse any food scraps possible- jars are reused in the home- bottles are reused for seedlings where possible

Recycle:we have a separate recycling bin inside- we recycle any items possible, even if it means breaking the product apart to put those materials in the recycling bin, and the non-recyclable items in the waste bin.

Reuse glass containers where you can like Maria does

Maria’s Story:

Why do you think it is important to ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

We are a family of 4. Both husband and I were taught at a very young age to eat wholefoods, so we had a head start to both health and less packaging.

We believe in one of our family values that we all make a difference, both as family and in our businesses.

Therefore have taught our 2 children this from a very young age.

Being a scuba diver I have seen the amount of pollution in our water ways, our children also learnt about the effects of pollution and how we can each help minimise the effects from what we actually do at home.

With population growth along with it more and more pollution in many aspects. Us as a family lead by an example then surely the positive flow to others to even make small changes.

I do buy or make our yoghurt in a big tub then dispense in little containers. All ‘sweet’ treats are made at home, less packaging especially plastic wrappers!

Bread bags are reused to cover food several times before disposed of.

Left overs are placed in glass containers with plastic lids.

All legumes, rice, flour is emptied into coffee jars.

All glass bottles are kept for salad dressings and oil.

All kombucha, including hotels are kept in glass coffee jars, 2F are in grolsh bottles, voss water bottles or Roar Living empty glass bottles.

SHOPPING: Hessian bags are used for heavy items and delicate green grocery a wooden box are used.

PLASTIC Milk containers are used to protect seedlings in Autumn/Winter crop. I cut then place over emerging seedlings.

EGG CARTONS: are kept and given to those who have chickens as well as our own compost bin. Also cartons are used for raising seeds.

TOILET ROLLS: are given for craft at school as well as raising seedlings.

PAPER TOWELS: are placed in compost tumbler.

FOOD SCRAPS: have bought 3 BOKASHI bins from NZ several years ago. ALL food scraps are placed in our bins and put back in our garden, this includes tea bags.

EGG SHELLS: are kept in freezer, crushed then used around vegetation, both for warding off snails AND for calcium.

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

Buy glass, so you can wash and reuse.

Menu plan and get organised to make biscuits, muffins so no longer do you need to buy packaged biscuits or premade muffins etc.

Shop at “bulk store” and reuse paper bags for rice, legumes then place in glass jars.

It is ok to buy the odd packet of chips or even biscuits when time poor. I know not everyone can grow their own vegies BUT you can use wooden boxes to place your groceries in as opposed to buying packaged fruit or even using 1 plastic bag for 2 apples.

For those who store their fruit in plastic bags, invest in tupperware fruit/vege storage containers.

Worm farms great BUT slow.

How AMAZING are these ladies?! I am even more inspired that I have been before. Let me know what you think …. and of course, let us all know in the comments if there is something that you do that really needs to be mentioned.

Good Afternoon friends! Happy Wednesday! I hope this finds you all well.

Since moving to Tasmania end of May 2016 (next week it will be one year ago!), I have had to quickly learn about becoming more environmentally friendly and more aware of our rubbish situation. I thought we were good with this until living here!

Where we live, we don’t have an ‘Otto’ bin service. What do we do then I hear you asking? Most people are baffled when we tell them this. Well, it took about a month or two of working out a system that works for us but we got it down pat and whilst it takes more work than simply throwing everything in the one big Otto bin, we all feel good that we are actually doing something productive to help the environment. After all, one small step is better than none at all isn’t it?

I have a decent size walk in Pantry and in there I have a LARGE plastic tub (you know those coloured once from the hardware store that most people put toys or beach gear in!) – in there goes the recycling. Every other day this gets taken outside to the shed where we have several large bins (large black ones with lids, once again from the hardware store) and they get separated into glass, tins, plastic etc (each bin is labelled on the lid!).

Also in the pantry I have two lidded tubs for food scraps – one for the chooks and one for the compost.

Once you take out tins, glass, paper/cardboard, plastic, food scraps – it is surprising how little rubbish is left. If there is any left, it gets popped into a bag and into it’s own labelled bin. This is generally empty.

Every 3 weeks approximately, hubby takes the black bins to the tip where it all has its place to be separated.

It works and makes us SO much more aware.

Another thing we have had to get use to since living in Tasmania is taking along our own shopping bags when buying groceries – otherwise you pay for the bags. I LOVE this concept and think that every single state should do this. I have got into the habit that once I unpack my groceries, my bags go straight back into the car so I don’t get caught out by forgetting them next time.

I am grateful that since moving here we are super close to a Bulk Wholefoods store. I understand that everyone is not as lucky to have this close by but it has been a huge help in changing the way I think and shop. I can take in my own containers and only buy what I need. No more food waste. No more plastic bags. Helping the environment. Helping me save money!

I love also that whilst I am learning all about this, so are my four kids and at a far younger age, they are going to be miles ahead of me by the time they reach my age and that is super exciting!

There are quite a few Facebook pages etc around that encourage others to make the change. I am lucky to have had 3 lovely ladies from 3 of these businesses answer a few questions to hopefully inspire you!

Alexx Stuart from LOW TOX LIFE

Why do you think it is important to ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

It’s important because there is no ‘AWAY’ – It all comes back to us eventually and the building landfill is an alarming thing indeed, not to mention the crazy amount of waste and plastics that head out to our beautiful oceans, parks and street nature strips. Growing our own awareness and treating it as a very important education piece to pass onto our little peeps from birth, is really going to help us shift our daily habits that collectively contribute to a huge global issue. I take lots of comfort in the fact that on a house-by-house, person-by-person basis this is NOT a huge problem and the changes are so small and easy if we’re committed to making them. We often think “what can little old me do to effect change when the problem is so big” but that’s an attitude that you CAN toss because together it all adds up.

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

CHUNK. IT. DOWN. Start with one thing, add another each week or even month and by the end of one year, I guarantee you your rubbish will be a third what it once was and you would have saved 100s of kilos of waste from landfill and single use plastics from circulation – Just one family. I mean, how exciting is that, right? So I tend to say start with the reusable shopping bags. I even created a beautiful one to inspire peeps as well as being the most practical and comfortable reusable ever made (true story. LOTS of testing!) And to make sure you don’t forget them at home, when you unpack shopping be sure to pop the bags straight back at the front door so that they’re there as a reminder to take them with you to the car or shops next time. This is often the tip that helps clinch that habit – that, plus being strict on yourself. “I am no longer ALLOWED to use plastic bags at the shops”. Once you’ve had to wrap avocados, potatoes, rice, washing powder and coconut milk in a gym towel because you forgot your bags – You’ll get very good at remembering them, trust me! Next is starting a compost bin (Love this resource online to help you learn!) Or ask if your council’s green bin takes fruit, veg, off cuts as many in the cities now do. Composting will reduce your rubbish by half, so a smaller bin, less bin liners etc. You’ll also have amazing compost to grow produce or keep your garden super healthy. Then my next faves are soft plastics from pantry staples going to the Coles Red bins, BYO bottles and cups and saying no to straws! If I’ve lost you, honestly, remember: Just start with one thing. The bags or whichever speaks to you the most, first. Once you’ve nailed it, move on to the next thing.

What are 3 ways you personally ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

All of the above. My next focus is less recycling because it’s a costly exercise from a resource perspective and still brings plastic into the system and uses petroleum as a resource, something I’m always mindful of. So, that’s going to mean making more of my own crackers in the oven or dehydrator with ingredients from the bulk foods store so that I can bring my own produce bags. Then I’ll be getting stricter with myself around the rest of the pantry staples – if the frozen mango brand I buy in the cardboard sometimes isn’t available, then I’ll abstain rather than getting the plastic pouched one. You’re never done on the this road, so rather than being stressed by that, be relaxed about it. We’re all learning, even those of us who’ve been at it a while. Once you nail something be curious and think “What’s next for our family?”. Ask the kids to come up with the next challenge and all do it together. Including kidson this education is just as important a part of life education as manners, courtesy and school work – Our planet is our home. ALL OF US live together on it. It deserves our utmost respect and to finish, I’ll share my favourite Indian saying “Act with the seventh generation in mind”. Imagine the decisions we’d make as countries and individuals if our 7 x grand children were sat in front of us holding us to account?

Laura Trotta

It’s important to ‘reduce, recuse and recycle’ because the waste we produce in our homes day in day out, week in week out and year in year out, is significantly impacting the health of our planet.

We’re burying items in landfill that will take hundreds of years, if ever to break down. Of the organic wastes (such as food scraps) that do decompose, most release greenhouse gases like methane in the process, which contributes significantly to climate change.

As for our oceans? They’re becoming a toxic soup of microplastics that are accumulating in the food chain and creating havoc to marine life in the process.

You get the picture. The waste we generate is changing our landscape, changing our oceans and changing our atmosphere.

Sure, waste is a significant issue and at first glance it can appear too hard to solve, but it’s much easier than most people think. Adopting a ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ mindset… and even taking it one step further and avoiding the generation of waste in the first place, is the key to addressing this local and global issue.

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

Firstly I’d say never to doubt that you can make a difference. It will take many seemingly small acts, undertaken by many, to truly change the world.

Join the movement and truly become the change you wish to see in the world and in turn you’ll inspire others to follow suit.

Secondly, I’d say if you’re unsure where to start, or if you’re feeling overwhelmed, to follow the “Power of One” principle.

Choose just one area to focus your efforts and reduce your waste, before tackling other areas. The kitchen is a good place to start in the home since the bulk of our household waste is generated there.

Once you have your area selected, then choose just one waste to focus on. It might be reducing food packaging waste or actual waste from waste. Or even one type of waste, such as replacing plastic produce bags with reusable mesh bags.

Now try and make the change for just one day.

It doesn’t seem so overwhelming now, does it?

Once you’ve successfully made the change for one day, do it another day, and another. When the change is a habit, choose the next waste to eliminate and keep on going until you have yourself a waste free home. It is possible!

What are 3 ways you personally ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

Oh there’s so many to mention – I absolutely LOVE this topic and get a real high from reducing household waste. Here’s some simple ways we reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reuse – We have a “single use sucks” mentality to goods and aim to purchase items that can be reused as much as possible. From handkerchiefs to my menstrual cup, to cloth nappies when the boys were babies, to reusable food wraps rather than plastic wrap, to my trusty thermos and travel mug to satisfy my herbal tea habit, we make an effort to reuse as much as possible. Any food waste we generate is fed to either our chickens or placed in our compost bin or worm farm to make nutrient-dense fertilizer for our vegetable garden.

Recycle – When we haven’t been able to avoid generating the waste or reusing it in some way, we then look to recycle. Fortunately we live in South Australia where there’s a cash incentive to recycle bottles. This policy makes for a very tidy State! We also pass clothing items to the local opportunity shop and collect items such as printer cartridges and batteries for recycling.

Here is some more just in case you want some more tips…..

My Five Top Tips to Reducing Your Household Waste

Waste Not, Want Not – Food waste is actually the largest component of waste in a typical Australian household, making up around 40% of the waste stream. By planning your meals, shopping to plan and composting or giving your scraps to chickens or a worm farm, you’ll keep a heap of food out of your bin.

Smarten up your Shopping – Obviously it takes a mindset shift to look at every single-use item you use in your home and ask if there’s a better reusable alternative but it’s a mindset that will save you heaps of money and reduce your waste considerably. From using reusable drink bottles to replacing your snap lock bag habit with reusable food pouches, this mindset is fundamental to becoming an eco-goddess.

Aspire for your WHOLE diet to be wholefoods – I appreciate that packaged, processed foods are convenient, but they’re also costly, nutritionally poor and produce sooo much waste in packaging alone! So, bit by bit, try and replace one processed food on your shopping list each week with a “real food”.

Go for QUALITY over quantity – When it comes to purchasing most items including toys, clothing, appliances etc. buy the best quality you can afford. Of course this will mean you buy less stuff, and this less stuff won’t break down as much as the large amount of cheaper stuff, resulting in less rubbish (and less crap in your house to try and keep tidy!).

Say NO to freebies – I know freebies make us feel fabulous (for a split second anyway), but no household needs fifty thousand pens, stubby coolers, magnets or a bathroom cabinet brimming with mini hotel shampoos and conditioners. For extra brownie points, see how long you can go without falling for a “gift with purchase” advertising campaign…..

Anna Wiese – from Unpacked Bulk Wholefoods

Why do you think it is important to ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

It’s important to reduce our footprint on the earth, tonnes of single use items make their way into the environment where they wreak havoc destroying natural habitats and the animals/organisms that live there. I want to make sure some of this amazing world is still around for my grandkids and their kids to enjoy too!

What is some advice you would give to others who are wanting to change but hesitant as they either don’t know where to start or they think they really won’t make a difference?

Make just one small change at a time! Big changes come from lots of people making one small change. Things like using stainless steel lunchboxes, bottles & straws – they don’t weather or break like plastic does either. Keep a reusable bag in your handbag is also a good way to make sure you have a bag on hand when needed, and buying locally from places like farmers markets not only mean you are supporting local small business but are reducing food miles too.

What are 3 ways you personally ‘Reduce, Reuse or Recycle’?

– We shop from bulk to avoid packaging where we can – we reuse jars and containers for this

– We use REDcycle to recycle soft plastics that can’t go in our recycling bin (found at some Coles and Woollies)

– We buy secondhand where we can including things like school uniforms, this also saves us money! Amazing what you can buy from gumtree, fb groups, thrift shops and tips shops!

I know this information is so much to take in which is why I am going to keep the rest for another day! I still have so much more to say, so much more to share and of course, so much more to learn! I am incredibly ready and eager to keep learning with you. If there are any particular tips you would like, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to get some information to put into the next blog post.